Monday Morning Considerations

The future of the Argos, Leaf prospects and Fantuz heads back to Regina

RENE JOHNSTON / TORONTO STAR

Hamilton coach Kent Austin gets the sportsdrink shower by Greg Ellingson after the big win in Toronto in Toronto. Austin is heading to Saskatchewan where he shone has a quarterback for the Roughriders for years.

Would it have been different if Dee Webb hadn't got a finger - he swears two fingers - on an end zone pass late in the first half intended for John Chiles?

Would it have been different had Chad Kackert been available to give the Argonauts some semblance of a running game?

Would it have been different had the mayor not arrived in a giant wave of bad karma?

Maybe, maybe not.

Perhaps the best lesson the Argos can glean from their stunning defeat in the Eastern Final on Sunday was an appreciation of just how impressive the Montreal Alouettes have been over the years in maintaining such a high quality of football despite rarely being challenged in the east.

Hamilton quarterback Henry Burris thought he detected a lack of sharpness on the Toronto sideline as Sunday's game got down to the tighter moments.

"I wanted to put the pressure on (Argo quarterback Ricky Ray). He hadn't played a lot in the second half of the season. He's an amazing quarterback. But he hadn't played a lot," noted Burris."Did they have the talent? Sure. But they really hadn't had to go after somebody snap after snap.

"They didn't seem as sharp in the second half as they had in the first half. But look at us. We've been in dogfights all season. Last week we had to go 97 yards into the wind in a critical situation. When the the pressure was on, we knew we could be on top of our game, do things, make good decisions, take care of the football."

After winning the Grey Cup last season, Argos just sort of meandered through this season, watching Montreal make a go of it without Anthony Calvillo, observing the ups and downs in Hamilton, seeing the nightmare unfold in Winnipeg.

Their best moments seemed to be when Ray went down and they had to go with Zach Collaros, who responded in fine fashion.

But it seemed clear from the opening week of the season that the Argos would finish first and host the East final.

No uncertainty meant no edge? Maybe.

Next season, the Cats will be defending their eastern title in a new stadium, the Als and Bombers will be regrouping, the Ottawa Redblacks will be joining the fray and the Argos' future with no home and no owner will come into sharper focus.

Other Monday morning thoughts and observations:

--Saskatchewan, you have to believe, will be significant favourites in next Sunday's big game. The Roughriders are at home - they've never won a Cup in Regina - and they beat Hamilton soundly on two occasions this season.

The matchup to watch might be Kory Sheets against C.J. Gable, a battle of running backs. Sheets was running away with the league rushing title before he was hurt, and if he gets loose with regularity next Sunday it could be a huge problem for Orlondo Steinhauer's Hamilton defence.

Gable doesn't have the same stats, not even close. But the former USC back has been a very useful weapon all season for Burris, and if its cold and wintry on Sunday, the Cats will need to have some semblance of a ground attack.

--Let's face it; the Tiger-Cats thought they were getting more when they signed Andy Fantuz 18 months than they'd been getting.

On Sunday, the investment paid off handsomely, with Fantuz coming up with 11 catches. The Argos just couldn't cover him, and on a critical second-and-17 situation for Hamilton late in the fourth quarter, Burris looked for Fantuz and desperate Argo defensive back Demetrice Morley (wearing Rob Ford's No. 12, no less) was detected for an obvious pass interference foul.

In the Eastern final, Fantuz was the weapon the Cats thought they'd bought as a free agent leaving Regina.

"We saw the potential when I signed here," said Fantuz, delayed after the game when selected for random drug testing. "You could feel it. We're a big family, it starts at the top and we're just all really proud of each other.

"I've been happy with my decision. I miss playing (in Regina), I miss my teammates, and the fans, but I knew I was coming to a great environment here. I'm home now, close to family and all my friends, it was definitely the right decision for me."

Fantuz has one advantage going back to Saskatchewan for the Grey Cup game. Even if there's bad feelings, he can't be booed effectively. Years of fans chanting "Toooozzzz" means booing wouldn't sound any different.

He said the Cats will face "pandemonium" and a "really hostile" environment.

"Grey Cup in Regina is what this league's all about. It's going to be special," he smiled.

--A year ago today the McMaster Maraunders and Fighting Irish from the University of Notre Dame were both ranked as the No. 1 football schools in their respective countries.

A blessed day it was.

--Detroit GM Kenny Holland estimated before the season that to make the NHL playoffs with any level of comfort teams needed to win six out of every 10 games.

Well, after 20 games, the Leafs have 12 wins and 25 points. Yet the bitching and whining about this team remains at a fever pitch.

Folks, this was a young team knocked out in the first round last spring. Were you expecting a juggernaut?

The worst you can really say about the Leafs is that as a group, they've only played really well for a period here and a period there. The second period eight days ago in Boston might have been their best chunk of effort of the season.

Despite that lack of team consistency, they're in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference, and should be a serious candidate for a playoff berth right to the end.

--The Leafs are surely happy with the acquisition of Jonathan Bernier, but let's get away from the notion they gave up nothing to get him.

With consecutive shutouts for the Kings on the weekend, Ben Scrivens is proving beyond all doubt he's a solid NHL goalie, maybe not as far behind Bernier as you might think.

Matt Frattin, meanwhile, has struggled more, and has one goal in 20 games. Frattin just hasn't been the same since getting off to that hot streak last season then being forced to have a knee procedure that seemed to take the edge off his game.

There's also a second round pick in 2014 or '15 that will go to the Kings. So it'll take some time before the total bill on Bernier comes due.

Still, the Leafs like their end of the deal. They've yet to get a bad start from either Bernier or James Reimer.

--One of the reasons Leaf fans get so frustrated with their team is that they so infrequently look at the challenges of other clubs.

Like the Vancouver Canucks. Like the Leafs, John Tortorella's club is having a terrible time scoring with just one goal in each of its last four games, a slump which has the team locked in ninth place in the west despite having the same number of points as the Leafs.

Alex Burrows hasn't scored this season. Running up the minutes on the Sedin twins and Ryan Kesler worked magically at first, not so much lately.

Then there's the ups and downs in Ottawa this season with a team that had all kinds of personality last season and none this campaign so far.

So look around every once in a while Leaf fans. You'll feel better about your team.

--The Leafs continue to have two of the top four scorers in the OHL this season in Erie's Connor Brown, an Etobicoke boy, and Carter Verhaeghe of Waterdown, Ont., who plays for the Niagara Ice Dogs. Brown leads the league in points, while Verhaeghe is fourth.

Last summer's first round pick, Frederik Gauthier of Rimouski, is off to a decent start with 19 points in 21 games. He's a long-term project.

GM Dave Nonis showed on the weekend that, as was the case with the Bernier deal, he's not afraid to move young assets and picks as long as he's getting young or relatively young players in return.

Bernier is only 25. Centre Peter Holland, acquired from Anaheim on the weekend in a deal that cost minor-league blueliner Jesse Blacker and pick, is only 22. That's very different than trading youth and picks for older players, which was the modus operandi of the Leafs for years.

--Since being anchored to the Cleveland bench last Monday in Chicago, Toronto's Anthony Bennett has seen things pick up a little bit. Last summer's first overall pick played a season high 20 minutes in Minnesota, going 3-11 from the field, and then played just eight minutes against Charlotte, making just one basket.

Bennett's facing a long process with the Cavs. Look for more minutes and more success in the second half of the season.

--Andrew Wiggins, meanwhile, gets back into action tomorrow night when Kansas hosts Iona. The Jayhawks haven't played since beating Duke at the Champions Classic in Chicago last week.

After a game against Towson later this week, Kansas and Wiggins head to Paradise Island, Bahamas for another mini-tournament.

Nice work if you can get it.

--You can expect Ilya Bryzgalov to join the Edmonton Oilers early this week. After a shaky debut in Oke City in which he allowed five goals on 24 shots, he was better in a 4-1 win over Abbotsford on the weekend.

Interestingly, since Bryzgalov was signed, Devan Dubnyk has started playing much better. In his last three starts, Dubnyk has allowed six goals on 90 shots for a much improved save percentage of .933.

--At one end of the NHL plus-minus scales sits former Leaf blueliner Francois Beauchemin at plus-17. At the other end, Nail Yakupov at minus-14. Make your own judgements.

--The Czech Republic won the Davis Cup over the weekend against a Serbian team that wasn't as strong as the squad that barely outlasted Canada in the world semifinals.

Canada can wonder what might have been, but then again, the Spanish didn't send their best to the Great White North last winter. That's how the Davis Cup works, which is why its somewhat unpredictable. You never know which players are going to play.

Canada starts a new Davis Cup journey in January on the road in Tokyo.

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.